Policyholder Adequately Pled Bad Faith in $500,000 Hurricane Irene Case, N.Y. Appellate Court Says

NEW YORK — A policyholder has adequately pled that its commercial property insurer acted in bad faith by offering to pay only a small portion of its $500,000 Hurricane Irene property damage claim, a New York appellate court has ruled.

On Nov. 2, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, held that the affidavits and evidence proffered by the plaintiff supported its claim of breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, as well as its prayer for punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

In August 2011, a Staten Island, N.Y., apartment building owed by 25 Bay Terrace …